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in discussing extremes, you may be able to more
clearly see the right path to take.
Remember, when creative problem solving, the most
important step is getting ideas out, without judgement.
The team can wean those ideas down to a short list
later, once all of the ideas have been presented.
Tool #3: Act Like Steve Jobs
I’ve found the creative spirit can often be hampered
by the handcuffs of reality. When I have my team
around the table, working hard to solve a problem,
I’ll often take the role of a highly innovative company
or person. For instance, if a team is strategizing a
way to increase employee engagement, someone
could pose the question, “What does Disney do
to increase employee engagement?” or even “How
would Steve Jobs approach this?”
Changing your perspective to that of an innovative
company or person can often jumpstart a stagnant
conversation. Pretending to be another company, even
for a few minutes, can provide just the escape from
reality a team needs to come up with viable ideas.
Daydreaming is an important first step of reaching
an end goal. Through imagination, a person can
visualize an end goal and begin to determine which
steps are necessary to reach that destination.
Reality can often handcuff a team, causing them to
limit their thinking. By engaging their imaginations,
professionals can come up with new ways to
approach a problem.
Tool #4: Draw It Out
Professionals almost always troubleshoot issues
verbally, but a completely different approach can be
surprisingly effective. When we sketch, we’re using
a different set of synapses than when we write or
speak, which can lead us to come up with a unique
set of ideas.
During your next meeting, ask participants to draw
the problem, then divide into teams to draw possible
solutions. Emphasize that team members don’t have
to create artwork worthy of hanging in to the world’s
best art galleries. Even if they’re drawing stick
figures, they’re utilizing the right side of the brain.
Drawing helps team members see a challenge from
new perspectives. Also, because the human brain loves
visuals, we are able to both understand and build on
other people’s drawings in a way we can’t with words.
Tool #5: Try 4 Creative Ways to
Look at the Problem
When conversation stalls, there are four tried-and-
true tricks that can lead the team in a new direction.
These four questions can be especially effective
whether you’re alone in your office, ready to bang
your head against a wall, or crammed into your
conference room with a group of associates.
• How would my favorite TV character solve this?
Whether team members prefer action shows or
situation comedies, this question prompts them to
consider the problem from someone
else’s perspective.
• What would a five-year-old do? The simplest answer
is often the best one. A child provides straightforward,
common sense feedback that can be the very answer
a team is looking for.
• How would my alter ego solve this? Workers often
take on one persona in the office and quite another
on the tennis court or at family get-togethers. Asking
team members to step out of their nine-to-five selves
and tackle the problem using the personality they
have after hours, team leaders can scribble down a
different set of ideas.
• What would a reporter do? Reporters go after the
truth, using interrogation to get to the heart of a story.
I’ve found that asking my team to tackle the problem
as though they were hard-hitting journalists, I unleash
their curiosity, which helps us get beneath the surface
of an issue and truly come up with a solution.
Tool #6: Hit the Road
If a team has been sitting around the same
conference table within the same four walls for
weeks, months…even years, sometimes a change
of scenery can be provide just the shot of inspiration
needed. A two-day retreat at a state park or hotel
gets workers away from office distractions so they
can concentrate on the task at hand. Libraries and
museums can be especially effective in getting ideas
flowing. Even meeting at a coffee shop before work
or at the museum for lunch can open workers up
enough to bring new ideas into the mix.
Studies have proven the benefits of trying something
new. That lost feeling a person has when in
unfamiliar surroundings helps spark the part of the
brain that solves problems and makes decisions.
Whether aware of it or not, team members will be
better able to make decisions while navigating a new
part of town or searching the halls of a hotel for a
designated meeting room.
Tool #7: Be in It to Win It
One of the biggest problems with brainstorming
meetings is that they often occur suddenly, in the
middle of a day filled with phone calls, e-mails, and
spreadsheet updates. How often throughout the
day to we access this creative part of our brain?
Yet we expect ourselves to leave our desks and
head directly into a meeting where we’re suddenly
expected to be creative.
Instead of jumping immediately into problem-solving
mode, meeting participants should engage in a brief
warm-up to shift into a more creative frame of mind.
Even spending ten minutes or so playing a game that
sparks their creativity can help with the transition.
After the warm up, professionals often find team
members are much more open, leading to a more
productive meeting that has a better outcome.
Many businesses make the mistake of trying to
force a team to come up with ideas in a professional
setting. But coming up with unique, untraditional
solutions often requires an untraditional approach to
problem-solving. Through using these seven tools,
teams can have more productive meetings, arriving
at a solution quickly so team members can move
forward with their ideas.
Even when professionals aren’t conducting a
problem-solving meeting, it’s important to find
time to dream, create, and innovate each day. By
doing so, they’ll be fully prepared to come up with
a solution to any problem, without the need for
multiple brainstorming meetings. Like the human
body, the creative mind needs to be exercised
regularly to remain strong. If professionals will set
aside time each day to think creatively and devise
unique solutions to problems, they’ll find they’re
better able to think creatively when the need arises.
Creativity can be your competitive advantage if you
use it regularly.
HR
Want more on this topic? Come to HR West
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where Tamara will speak
on “Thinking Sideways.” For more about Tamara Kleinberg, see page 10.
Keynote Speaker
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